Sault Ste. Marie, MI

The Visitors Center at the Soo Locks contains a theater featuring films on the historic and operation of the locks and the St. Marys River, a large relief map of the Great Lakes region as well as exhibits, maps and photographs of interest.

A crew of knowledgeable staff is in charge of the Visitors Center during the tourist season. The center is open to the public from Mother's Day to mid-October, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. A public address system in the observation platform lets visitors know which vessels are coming through the locks.  

Surroundings the Visitors Center and spanning the length of the locks are Upper and Lower Canal Parks. These shady spaces have paved strolling paths and benches for watching boats. The Lower Canal Park features an illuminated fountain and free concerts during the summer on Wednesday evenings.

The dedication of the Visitors Center expansion at the Soo Locks, St. Marys Falls Canal, was held June 30, 1995 in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The new addition adds approximately 3,200 square feet of floor space for displays and seating in the theater for a total of 6,000 square feet. Construction began on the addition in October 1994 and cost $600,000. Edward Jacques, Nomad Construction Company manager, presented the keys to the new addition to Major Dennis Hurley, Deputy District Engineer, during the ceremony. Other officials present included Mayor Pro Tem Tony Bosbous, Sault. Ste. Marie; Bud Mansfield, Director, Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce; and Rosemary Forrester, representing United States Senator Carl Levin.

The Soo Locks Visitors Center has consistently been the most visited Corps Visitors Center in the country. The largest annual attendance was 830,489 visitors in 1971, and 14,629 visitors on August 11th of that year was the highest daily total. The average yearly visitors count from 1971 through 1994 was 580,751. Since 1971, the first year records were available, 13,398,012 people have visited the Soo Locks.

Boats come through the locks 24 hours a day, seven days a week, between March 25 and Jan. 15. It is only possible to predict a few hours ahead of time when boats will be at the locks, for current schedules call the Boatwatchers Hotline at (906) 253-9290.

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